Amazon cuts Kindle to $189, B&N cuts Nook to $199

Amazon has announced that the Kindle e-reader will now sell for $189, following news that Barnes & Noble reduced the price of its Nook e-reader, released last year, to $199. Both companies are attempting to brush off increasing competition, particularly from Borders Group Inc., which sells e-readers for between $119 and $149.

Other new devices, such as Apple's iPad, are also being touted as solutions for e-book reading, and the Cupertino-based company is only too keen to bite a chunk out of the emerging market. "The Kindle Store includes over 600,000 books and the largest selection of the most popular books people want to read, including 109 of 112 New York Times Bestsellers and New Releases from $9.99," a statement from Amazon reads.

"In addition, over 1.8 million free, out-of-copyright, pre-1923 books are available to read on Kindle. Since its release, Kindle has been the #1 bestselling product across the millions of items sold on Amazon."

Sales of e-book reading devices in the United States reached 2.2 million in 2009, and the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) expects that figure to rise to 5 million for 2010. Digital e-book sales also doubled to $27.4 million in April, compared to a year earlier.